The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has rescued 23 foreign nationals and arrested 14 suspected kidnappers in a major operation that uncovered a transnational human trafficking and kidnapping ring.
According to a statement by the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, the intelligence-led operation was conducted by the Command’s Scorpion Squad around 8:00 p.m. on October 22, 2025, at Angwan Adamu Ruga Fulani Zone B, Riverside, Ado Mararaba in Nasarawa State.
The victims—comprising 14 men, eight women, and one child—were reportedly lured into Nigeria under the guise of lucrative job offers before being held hostage by the suspects, who demanded ransoms from their families through WhatsApp and other online platforms.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the syndicate was led by Abubakar Jigiba, described as a transnational criminal kingpin operating across Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, and Nigeria. His younger brother, Sougule Zoubere, allegedly coordinated the recruitment, abduction, and smuggling of victims from Mali into Nigeria, where they were detained pending ransom payments.
Police said the victims were trafficked into the country through illegal border routes over a three-day journey and confined in two fortified two-bedroom apartments under inhumane conditions.
“Acting on actionable digital and reconstructive intelligence, operatives traced the hideout and rescued the victims unhurt, except one who sustained a minor ear injury and has been taken to the National Hospital, Abuja, for treatment,” the statement read.
Authorities said investigations are ongoing to dismantle the entire network and bring all perpetrators to justice.
